Americas

Latin America is in the midst of a continental revolt against the
governments and ruling elites which have relentlessly followed
neo-liberal free-market policies for more than a decade. Over 215
million, a staggering 41%, are “living in poverty” in Latin America
while an additional 18% are facing hunger.

As a result there has been an explosion of mass opposition. Struggles of
workers, peasants, indigenous people, students and others exploited by
capitalism and imperialism have erupted in Chile, Peru, Argentina,
Colombia and many other countries. In Venezuela, and Bolivia, mass
movements resulted in the election of left populist governments that
challenge US imperialism.

Polarized Elections

The July 2nd elections in Mexico were a bitterly polarized electoral
contest described by the New York Times as a contrast between “promise
and fear.” The “promise” part represented the empty promises for jobs
and a decent life by the Harvard-educated, millionaire right-wing
candidate of the National Action Party (PAN) Felipe Calderon. The “fear”
was for the high anxiety of the Mexican and US ruling class over a
possible victory by the radical populist Lopez Obrador, candidate of the
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

Obrador was ahead in the polls for months before the elections and all
exit polls indicated a lead for the PRD candidate. Yet, after the
election, and with three million votes reported “missing,” both Obrador
and Calderon claimed victory. At the time of this writing, there were
reports that Calderon was “ahead” by 0.6%, (Calderon and Obrador had
roughly a reported 36% each and the PRI candidate had 21%) and there
were going to be several recounts of ballots. On July 5, a later partial
recount showed Obrador again in the lead, resulting in the Mexican stock
market index falling 4% and the peso plunging against the dollar because
of the uncertainty and tension. In the US and Mexican corporate media
there were fears that there may be clashes as the polarization and anger
against fraud threaten to explode to the surface.

History of fraud

The events that followed the election of July 2nd bear an eerie
resemblance to the presidential elections of 1988 when the insurgent
left candidate of the PRD Cardenas, was defeated by massive fraud after
a “computer collapse” and the award of the election to Salinas of the
corrupt PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Salinas, and after him
Zedillo and current president of the PAN, Vincente Fox, went ahead with
a massive program of privatizations and attacks on the living standards
of millions of Mexican workers and peasants while opening the country to
the plunder and exploitation of US capital through NAFTA.

Millions of displaced and impoverished Mexican peasants and workers
especially from the south had to emigrate internally to the new
factories in the maquiladoras or as undocumented immigrants in the
United States in order to survive. As a result of NAFTA, the real wages
of unskilled workers have further declined since the collapse of the
Mexican economy in the 1980s and Mexican workers are now facing mounting
wage pressure from China.

The imposition of Felipe Calderón as President would mean the
continuation of the same policies, which are threatening to cause an
explosion. The election took place as hundreds of thousands of miners,
teachers and other workers were staging strikes and demonstrations
across Mexico. The death of 65 coal miners in Coahuila state in February
was followed by an explosion of struggles by miners and metal workers
demanding an emergency wage increase, safe working conditions and an end
to privatizations.

Popular rebellion

In July, 70,000 teachers in the state of Oaxaca were striking for higher
wages. Following attacks by 1,700 riot police, teachers armed with
sticks and stones fought running battles and eventually overpowered
them. The movement in Oaxaca has broadened into a popular rebellion.
Meanwhile hundreds of unions, and community organizations representing
over 10 million workers are calling a nationwide general strike for July
28.

The mass support for the campaign of Obrador, was an indication of the
determination of the working class and the most oppressed to defeat the
neo-liberal policies. Lopez Obrador campaigned as a populist adopting
the slogan, “For the Good of Everyone, the Poor First.” Obrador pledged
to renegotiate sections of the North American Free Trade Agreement in
order to protect domestic producers from US agricultural imports. At the
same time, he has repeatedly made clear to business and banking groups
that he can be trusted to safeguard their interests and balance the
budget.

A government led by Lopez Obrador would be a major irritant to George
Bush who has thus far only had to deal with the compliant right-wing
president Vicente Fox. His victory could possibly open the floodgates to
a new wave of struggles by the Mexican workers and peasants and will
have important repercussions north of the border on the Latino
population in the US especially over the issue of undocumented
immigrants. The remittances of Mexican immigrants in the United
States-approximately $18 billion a year-is now the second most important
source of foreign exchange, after oil, flowing into Mexico.

The only way to defeat the electoral fraud organized by the ruling class
and its operatives is for the independent unions and community
organizations that supported Obrador to call mass demonstrations across
Mexico, organize action committees and prepare for a general strike to
bring the country at a standstill. However, it is unlikely that Obrador
and the PRD will take such action as his program and policies hardly
touches the heart of the crisis in Mexico - capitalism. The only way to
reverse the attacks on the living standards of the mass of the
population is to break completely with capitalism by nationalizing the
banks, big industry and the large commercial enterprises.

socialistworld.net will carry further material on the important
developments in Mexico in the next few weeks.